Soul: Book 1
by Jadespade
Summary: The butter leader of an army. The soul death fails to stop. The alien from a destroyed world. The sorcerer with a forgotten past. The master of destruction. The cursed one who shields his eyes. The axe-wielder who was abandoned. The archer with guilt in his heart. The artist with the grace of the wind. The mutants from a factory of horrors. All must join together to save the world.
1. Chapter 1

Deadlox's body baked under the desert sun as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He wished that he could remove his butter armor, but the squids had been strangely absent these past few weeks. This wasn't good because it meant that they were plotting something. Squid attacks were always the worst when they had time to think things through.

Deadlox heard a sand block being mined, distracting him from his thoughts. He looked around, clutching a butter sword, but he saw nothing. Just when Deadlox was about to dismiss the sound as his imagination, the sand beneath his feet collapsed. Deadlox fell down with a scream of shock. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a dark tunnel of water. A tentacle wrapped around his ankle tightly. He shook it off with a shriek of disgust. Deadlox realized in horror that he had fallen into the Squids' trap.

The butter sword had slipped from Deadlox's grasp and was now buried in sand, so fighting the numerous squids in the dark was out of the question. The only escape route was from the hole he had fallen in, and that was too high up.

Two tentacles grabbed both of Deadlox's legs and pulled, knocking him into the water. He struggled, punching and kicking the squids that were trying to drag him away. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!" he cried out. A squid covered Deadlox's mouth, silencing him.

_"Stop struggling..." _a cold voice whispered. _"You will have no use if we hurt you..." _Deadlox was so surprised by the voice that he stopped fighting the squids for a moment. Big mistake. The squids grabbed Deadlox's head and pushed him back into the water. They were trying to drown him! He clawed desperately at the tentacles, but he was so weak already. Deadlox's chest was beginning to ache from the lack of air.

Just when he thought it was all over for him, Deadlox heard someone scream, "LET GO OF HIM YOU FUCKING SQUIDS!" Their vice-like grip released and he coughed up water. Someone dragged him to a patch of sand. He looked up and saw a familiar face.

"Sky?" Deadlox whispered.

Sky nodded and turned to the squids. He was clad with shining butter armor. _"Take the leader as well..." _the mysterious voice ordered. With a fearsome battle cry, Sky hacked and slashed at the onslaught of squids, feeling triumphant as he saw inky-blue blood in the water. Behind him, Deadlox smacked the squids with a block of sand, because the logic of Minecraft let him do that.

Floating purple particles flew at Sky from the dark, startling him. That moment of distraction was all the squids needed to hold Sky's ankles and pull him into the water. The butter god tried swinging his sword, but a strong tentacle grabbed his wrist. An audible snap was heard and Sky shrieked in pain. The enchanted butter sword fell from his grasp as Sky went still.

Deadlox grabbed Sky's sword and held it in front of him, his body trembling with fear. _"Drop the sword..."_

Deadlox realized that the purple particles were the source of the strange voice. His red eyes hardened with anger. "Never." he hissed.

_"You are a very determined person..." _the voice said, chuckling. _"Few dare defy me... But that will not help you when I am through with you..."_

Deadlox's blood chilled as goosebumps ran down his skin. "You're making a big mistake, challenging the Sky Army. Let Sky go and retreat before you lose everything." Deadlox demanded, trying to keep his voice steady.

_"You are forgetting who is in charge here..."_ the bodiless voice said coldly. _"You do not make the orders here..."_ The purple particles surrounded the sword. _"I do..." _Deadlox watched in horror as the butter hardened to a black, smoking lump. He dropped the now useless sword and stepped away from it.

"H-How did you... The butter... What?" Deadlox stammered.

_"You are messing with a force that you do not comprehend... Resist us no more... Come with us..."_

"And if I don't?"

_"Your leader dies as a result of your stubbornness..." _Deadlox swallowed nervously and nodded._ "That is much better... Still, it is best if we take some precautions... Knock him out..."_ Before Deadlox could object, a squid smacked him in the head and he collapsed._ "Patch up the hole... It would do us no good if the rest of the army finds the tunnel..."_

"Yes master!" some of the squids replied as they followed the voice's orders. Deadlox and Sky were carried away to the Squids' home base, their fate uncertain.

For now.


	2. Chapter 2

The afternoon sun shone through the window as the blue-suited spaceman paced around his room, muttering incoherent phrases to himself. Sky and Deadlox had been missing for two days already. The door opened, revealing Quentin. Jason looked at him hopefully, but his face fell when he saw his defeated expression. "Did you find them?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. Quentin shook his head. Jason sat down with a sigh of frustration.

"I found this, though." the blue mudkip said, giving Jason a piece of paper. "It was was attached to a cactus with an arrow."

_"Dear Sky Army,"_ Jason read aloud, _"We have kidnapped your general and lieutenant. You will never find them again! We are more powerful and smarter than you can ever imagine. We are unstoppable! First we will conquer your army, and then all of Minecraftia! Sincerely, King Derpollolus II."_ Jason put down the paper thoughtfully. "Hmm. At least we know it was the squids who kidnapped Sky and Deadlox."

"I hope Ian and Jerome have better luck finding something more useful, though." Quentin replied.

A while later, Ian returned. "I was looking for a squid to capture for info, but I couldn't find any!"

"None at all?" Jason asked, shocked.

"Yeah! It was like they all vanished or something!" Ian replied. "It's so weird!"

"I found this note." Quentin said, giving it to Ian to read.

"Squids," Ian said, shaking his head, "they never learn, do they?"

"Well they've learned that they should hide from us." Jason said. "Why must the squids get smarter everytime?"

* * *

"Sky?" a voice whispered. "Psst. Sky. Wake up." Sky groaned and opened his eyes to see red ones staring back.

"T-Ty?" Sky murmured as he sat up. "Ow!"

Ty winced. "Don't look at your arm." Sky looked at his arm and screamed. It was covered with a sling, but it still hurt like the Nether and he couldn't move his hand. "I think it's broken. I had to use your shirt for the sling, sorry."

"It's okay Ty." Now fully awake, Sky looked around. He and Ty were in a giant cage that hung above a large pool of water. There were many tunnels of water that led to the tall room. Sky glared at the two large squids that were swimming below them. "Is this the Squid Army's base?" he asked them.

"YES." they said in unison. "IT WILL ALSO BE YOUR FINAL RESTING PLACE AND YOUR DOOM. YOU WILL PERISH, BUTTER KING, FOR WE ARE-"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Sky said with annoyance.

An even bigger squid swam from one of the tunnels. A giant butter crown was placed on his head and his derpy eyes glared at the cage. Sky felt sick just looking at him. "Sky," the squid said, "do you know who I am?"

"An ugly squid?"

"No. I am King Derpollolus II."

"An ugly squid." Sky repeated.

"You won't be so brave when you hear what the leader has in store for you."

"Wait, you're not the leader?" Sky said, confused.

_"No..."_ the mysterious voice said, purple particles floating into the room. _"I am."_

"Why did you bring us here?" Deadlox asked.

_"All will be answered in due time. But for now, you should eat."_ Two squids entered the room, opened the cage, and threw two labeled boxes in. Deadlox's had a bucket of fresh water and ten cooked fish. Sky's had a bucket of stale water and five raw fish.

"That's not enough for him!" Deadlox said indignantly. "Why did I get the better food?"

_"Because I want him to slowly perish as he watches his 'army' crumble. You, on the other hand, will need to thrive to be useful."_ Deadlox ignored the voice and gave Sky one of his fish. _"Stop."_

"No." Deadlox said defiantly as he passed Sky another one.

One of the guards held down Deadlox while the other grabbed Sky's broken arm. Sky screamed in agony as he felt his bone pierce his skin.

"Stop!" Deadlox cried out. "Let go of him! I'll eat the damn fish, just stop hurting him!"

The guards let go of Sky, who panted as he lay limply. _"When will you ever learn that resistance gets you nowhere..."_ the voice said as he left the room.

"I'm sorry Sky..." Deadlox said quietly. Sky said nothing as he held his broken arm and tried to stifle his whimpers of pain.

* * *

Everyone turned to the door as someone opened it. Jerome ran in, carrying someone in his arms. "This guy needs medical attention, fast!" the bacca shouted.

Jason, Quentin, and Ian immediately stepped into action. "Lay him down on the table!" Jason ordered. "Ian, get the medical supplies!

"I'm on it!" he said as he ran out. About half a minute later, he came back.

The wounded person fought weakly against Quentin and Jerome, who were trying to keep him on the table. Tears leaked out from his amber eyes, which darted nervously around the room. His face was ghostly pale. "D-d-don't hurt me..." he stammered, his breathing very shaky. His sandy-brown hair clung to his face, which was slick with sweat.

Jason removed the patient's red-and-black checkered hoodie. He was covered in bruises and scratches. There were deep cuts on his arms and legs and there was a big slice on his hip. He was losing blood fast. "Oh my Notch, what happened to him?" Quentin asked when he saw the numerous injuries. Jason remained silent as he started cleaning the wounds and bandaging them.

"Go away..." the minecrafter said weakly. He shivered and took several shuddering breaths. "Leave me alone..."

"I'm trying to wrap up his wounds, but he won't stop shaking!" Jason said urgently. "He needs to calm down."

"Shh, it's alright." Ian said, patting his head soothingly. "Relax, you're going to be fine." The patient merely shook his head and whimpered.

"Leave me alone..." the minecrafter repeated as he covered his eyes with his hands. "Please... I didn't even look at you..."

"We're not going to hurt you." Quentin said.

"Yeah! We're just trying to help you." Jerome said. "I saved you, didn't I?"

"I'm Ian, the bacca's Jerome, the mudkipper is Quentin, and the guy in the spacesuit is Jason." Ian said. "We're part of Sky's Army, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm M-Mitch..." he said fearfully, his muscles tense.

"Okay Mitch, how old are you?" Jerome asked.

"Nineteen..." Mitch said as he started to relax a little.

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Quentin asked.

"Eleven..." Mitch mumbled. Jerome winced.

"This cut on his hip won't stop bleeding!" Jason said. "I think he'll need stitches!"

"Am I going to die?" Mitch asked, his eyes glued to the ceiling.

"No, you won't." Quentin said. "Not if we can help it. Get him anaesthesia!" Jason filled the syringe with clear liquid and injected it into Mitch's arm.

He stopped shivering and his eyes slowly closed. "Th-th-thank you..." Mitch whispered. "No... More... Pain..." He fell asleep. The room was silent for a moment.

"Holy Nether, what happened to him?" Jason asked as he started stitching up the wound.

"I was in the trees when I heard screaming." Jerome explained. "When I got there, Mitch was already half-dead, and there were a ton of Endermen attacking him. I think I even saw more Endermen teleporting to the scene to help. I scared them off though. I watered them a question. Wait, that doesn't even make sense."

"Did Mitch look at all of them?" Ian asked.

"Not likely." Jason replied. "We'll have to ask him when he wakes up. Jerome, move him to the infirmary."

"The infirmary blew up, though. Remember that creeper attack?" Jerome replied.

Jason groaned. Ever since Sky and Deadlox had disappeared, he had been forgetting a lot of things. "Are you okay with having Mitch in your room?"

"Of course, buddy." Jerome said as he left with Mitch in his arms.

Jason looked out the window and was surprised to see that it was almost nighttime. "We should eat, and then start searching again the next morning. We need to find the Squid Army's home base."

"Could we discuss this over dinner? Because I'm starving." Ian said. As if on cue, his stomach growled. Quentin chuckled.

"I'll be down in a minute." Jason said. "I gotta feed Jeffrey first." When everyone left, he took out a sheet of paper and quickly scribbled a note on it.

_Seto,_

_We need you to come back to home base ASAP. Sky and Ty taken by squids. Require your assistance. _

_From, Jason._

The spaceman opened the window and whistled. The leaves of a tree rustled as a dark figure hanging from it uncurled. Dillon screeched and flew up to the window. "Send this to Seto as fast as you can." the spaceman said. "He's somewhere in the taiga biome." The bat took the note and flew away into the night.

* * *

_"In the beginning, there were four brothers. There was Lord Notch, the eldest and the wisest, the most powerful being of the entire universe. He carried a special spark -the spark of life- and passed it down to this once empty world. His kingdom is the Overworld, and he rules it with fairness and virtue."_

_"The second eldest was Lord Herobrine, with his eyes that glow pure white. Fearsome he may be, but evil he is not. It was he who brought the warmth of fire to our cold world, and he oversees his world of lava; the Nether."_

_"Then there was Lord Aris; his intentions as pure as water, but his heart easily swayed like a feather in the wind. He created those two elements and ruled his dimensions in the heavens; the Aether."_

_"The youngest was Lord Ender. His magic was the most inexperienced, but he was the most cunning of the four, and perhaps the most ruthless. His dimension is the End, the place where they say your darkest nightmares come from. And perhaps it is so, for many brave adventurers met their end in that cruel world."_

_"The four brothers ruled Minecraftia together for many millenium, and so the world thrived and prospered. It was the Golden Age of Glory, but all that glitters is not gold..."_

_"As the years went by, Lord Ender's heart grew as cold, dark, and bitter as the world he had created. He was not satisfied with sharing the power. No, he wanted all of it. He felt sick everytime he saw a villager laugh, everytime he saw a miner play with his dog, everytime he saw happiness. Lord Ender wanted to see fear and grief around the worlds under his rule. But he was not foolish enough to challenge all three of his brothers alone."_

_"He persuaded Lord Aris to join him. At first the Aether Lord refused, but Lord Ender convinced him that he could purify the world and rid it of its imperfections. And so Lord Aris agreed to share half of Minecraftia. He would rule the Aether and the Overworld, and Lord Ender would rule the End and the Nether."_

_"Lord Herobrine, sensing his youngest brother's unhappiness, gave Lord Ender magical crystals that he had found from the far lands where the Four had come from. The Nether Lord believed them to possess merely healing powers. But the youngest brother eventually discovered that the Ender Crystals, if used properly, had the magical capabilities to perform any seemingly impossible task. Even kill Lord Notch himself."_

_"With his new powers, Lord Ender betrayed Lord Aris and sought out to dispose of him. The Aether Lord fought, but he was no match for the Ender Crystals, and so his body dissolved into creatures of water- thesquids. Lord Ender now controlled both the Aether and the End."_

_"Alarmed at the sudden death of their brother, Lord Notch and Lord Herobrine tried to convince Lord Ender to cease fighting, but he was drunk with power and would not heed their words. The resulting battle lasted for days. Fierce, terrifying monsters plagued the Overworld. Families were separated and loved ones were lost. Lord Notch created iron golems to protect his people from the monsters, but clouds of fear still hung over the people. The Elders tried one last time to persuade Lord Ender to stop, but he refused."_

_"Reluctantly, Lord Notch and Lord Herobrine combined their powers and destroyed the Ender Crystals. They shattered into a million pieces. His most prized weapon vanquished, Lord Ender was easily defeated. The Elders encased their brother in an egg and imprisoned him in the End forever. The Aether eventually crumbled away without Lord Aris. Peace was restored amongst the lands, and the Second Golden Age began."_

_"Mommy?"_

_"Yes, my dear?"_

_"What if Lord Ender comes back? What if he tries to hurt me?"_

_"Daddy and I will never let that happen, Mitch. I promise."_

_The memory suddenly crumbled away as a dragon roared menacingly in the shadows._

_"MOMMY, NO!"_

* * *

Mitch jerked awake, his scream escaping his mouth. He breathed heavily as he looked around the unfamiliar room. There were axes of all kinds of materials displayed on the walls. Golden armor hung on the wall in front of Mitch. He looked down and saw that he was covered in bandages. His wounds still ached, but not as acutely as before. Mitch lifted up his shirt and lightly ran his fingers over the neat stitches on his hip, wondering who had done them. All he could remember from the day before were flashes of purple, growls, and lots and lots of agonizing pain.

"What's wrong, biggums?" someone asked, and Mitch saw a bacca in a business suit standing right next to him. Mitch screamed, grabbed the nearest diamond axe, and swung it at Jerome. It would have sliced his head clean off if Jerome hadn't had fast reflexes and ducked. "Woah! What was that for?"

"You're a bacca!" Mitch yelled as he stared at Jerome's sharp fangs in fear. "You're gonna eat me!"

Jerome looked offended. "Hey, just because some baccas eat humans doesn't mean they all do."

"They, they don't?"

"No, I'm Jerome: an honorable man of the bac! Plus, wouldn't I have eaten you already?"

"Oh. Yeah." Mitch's face turned red as he slowly put back the diamond axe on the wall. "Sorry."

"It's okay. So, what were you screaming about? Did you have a nightmare?" Jerome asked, concerned.

"No." Mitch lied.

"You're crying." Jerome replied skeptically.

"No I'm not." Mitch said, putting a hand to his face. He was surprised to feel tear tracks. "Oh."

Jerome decided to drop the questions for later. "I think Jason would like to see you. We were just eating breakfast. Are you hungry?"

Mitch licked his lips. "Starving."

He tried to stand up, but Jerome stopped him. "Mitch, you were beaten up by multiple Endermen yesterday. I don't think you should try standing up anytime soon. I'll get Jason to check you up."

"Where am I, anyway?"

Jerome smiled. "Welcome to the home base of the Sky Army, biggums."


	3. Chapter 3

Deadlox slowly unwrapped the bloodstained sling and gasped. Sky's wound was swollen red and yellow pus was slowly leaking out of it. He could see the bone sticking out of the injury. "It's infected, right?" Sky asked quietly.

Deadlox didn't reply as he acknowledged the fact that without proper treatment, Sky would die. He soaked Sky's jacket with water. Sky hissed in pain as Deadlox cleaned the pus from the wound as best as he could. "Sorry Sky, but we can't let it get even more infected."

"I'm gonna be fine, Ty." Sky said, although it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.

Deadlox put a hand to Sky's sweaty forehead. "You're also running a fever."

Sky shook his head. "I'll be fine." he repeated. Suddenly, the cage was lowered to the surface of the water. Sky tried not to throw up; he couldn't afford to lose any nutrients. All of the squids gathered in the pool, chattering excitedly.

_"And how are my prisoners doing?"_ the voice asked. Deadlox and Sky glared at him. _"Well, it's been five days since I've kidnapped you, so I have made a decision. I'm letting you go."_

There was a moment of shocked silence. "R-Really?" Sky asked.

If the voice had had a face, he would have been smirking. _"Not you. Deadlox is free to go."_

"Alright, what's the catch?" Deadlox asked with contempt.

The voice laughed. _"You'll find out soon enough."_ Several squids swam up to the cage and opened it. Deadlox screamed as tentacles grabbed him and pulled him out. Sky yelled at the squids and grabbed his best friend's hand tightly, but with only one usable arm, Sky quickly felt Deadlox's fingers slip from his grasp. Sky let out a choked sob and reached his hand out towards Deadlox, who was being dragged to the mound of sand in the center of the room. He coughed as he sat up. Squids surrounded him with glass so he couldn't escape.

_"Sky, have you ever seen a soul transfer?"_

"N-No." Sky said hoarsely. "Never."

_"Well today is your lucky day, butter god."_ the voice said mockingly. _"Today you get to see one personally! Do you know what a soul transfer is?"_

Sky vaguely recalled Seto talking about it. He blinked away tears as he wondered what he would give to see his friends again. "It requires very powerful magic. A soul inhabits another's body as if it were its own."

_"Bravo."_ the voice sneered. _"Do you know what happens to the original soul?"_

Sky swallowed nervously. "The original soul? It dies." His eyes widened. "Oh my Notch..." He looked at the purple particles in horror. Deadlox realized his fate and buried his face in his hands. He wouldn't give the cruel soul the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

_"Deadlox is free to go!"_ the voice repeated, his words having an ironic echo.

"You, you monster!" Sky screamed. "Why would you do this to us?"

_"Why? Have the mortals truly forgotten my tale? No matter. So Deadlox, have you finally accepted that resistance gets you nowhere in the end?"_

Deadlox looked up at the soul, his amber eyes hardened with pure hatred. "I'll accept that when the Nether freezes over, bastard." And he spat on the sand for extra measure.

_"It's all over for you." _

"Let me take his place!" Sky begged. "Please!"

_"No. Deadlox has necromancer blood in him. We have an increased compatibility, which you would understand more clearly if you actually knew who I was. But I'll leave you in the dark for a little bit longer."_

"My ancestors were... necromancers?" Deadlox asked, surprised at the revelation.

_"Indeed they were."_

"Sometimes I thought that the monsters I fought were trying to talk to me, but I always thought I was just hearing things..." Deadlox said. "Now it makes sense..."

_"With your body, I will finally be able to harness my true power and take over Minecraftia! So Deadlox, do you have any final words?"_

"Go burn in the Nether."

_"Been there, done that. Really, you don't know who you're up against. But goodbye, Deadlox. It hasn't been a pleasure."_

The purple particles glowed brighter as the voice chanted in an ancient language. Swirls of magic surrounded Deadlox and lifted him up in the air. He vaguely heard Sky screaming desperately, so he looked at his friend. Sky met his gaze, tears running down his face. Deadlox smiled slightly. **_I'm going to be fine. You were the best friend anyone could have had. I wish my life didn't have to be so short, but it was worth it. I'm glad I met you and the rest of the gang. Goodbye..._**

Sky's hands reached out to his friend. "STOP IT!" he screamed futilely. He watched as an aura of purple formed around Deadlox. The flash of light momentarily blinded Sky and the onlooking squids. When his vision cleared, he saw Deadlox still in the air, his eyes closed tightly. None of the watchers knew of the ongoing battle inside Deadlox's head.

Deadlox felt himself start floating away. He began to panic as he realized that he was going to die. **_No! I can't let my soul leave!_** He could feel his body straining with the tension of containing two souls. Deadlox sensed the other soul from the power emanating from it, so he latched on to it. He felt the other soul trying to release his grip, but he refused to let go. That's when everything went wrong. Deadlox's soul became entangled with the other.

Deadlox screamed in pain as he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. "TY! TY NO!" Sky yelled. Deadlox's chest heaved as he coughed and hacked. "Ty?"

"AH!" Deadlox cried out as giant black wings erupted from his back, shattering his glass prison. The squids screamed in horror and backed up. Razor-sharp claws grew from Deadlox's fingers and toes. His long spiny tail swung around as Deadlox convulsed on the floor. Finally he stopped moving, taking several shuddering breaths. Slowly, he stood up and opened his eyes to reveal black slits. The crowd was completely silent as the creature examined his new wings. He looked at his clawed fingers and smiled maliciously.

"I... I did it." he said with slight surprise. Sky felt chills run down his back; it was Deadlox's voice, but at the same time it wasn't. His friend had never sounded so cruel or menacing. "Ha! I did it!" he cackled maniacally. "I'm finally free! HA HA HA HA!" He sniffed the air and licked his lips to show sharp fangs. He grabbed an unlucky squid and bit into it. The poor squid screamed in agony as it was devoured alive.

"What's wrong with you?" Sky asked, terrified.

"Oh Sky..." he said with sadistic glee. "I was hungry. I thought you hated squids."

"I do, but that's just inhumane!" Sky said. "Who are you, anyway?"

The creature laughed some more. "You can call me Enderlox. Lord Enderlox."

King Derpollous the Second's voice quavered as he said, "All hail Lord Enderlox, leader of the squids!" The squids bowed to Lord Enderlox fearfully, not willing to meet the same fate as their lost comrade. Lord Enderlox flew in the air, his shadow casted over the entire room. Sky looked at the winged creature in pure horror. His best friend had been replaced with a monster.

**(A/N: Enderlox character belongs to HerobrineisMINE on deviantart.)**


	4. Chapter 4

_Mitch's Diary_

_Day 1- I had to stay in bed all day so that my wounds could heal properly. It wasn't so bad, because I got to meet everyone in the Sky Army (technically it's Team Crafted, but according to Jerome "Sky Army" sounds more menacing to squids.) The only ones that weren't here were Sky himself, Deadlox (or Ty, as his friends call him), and Seto. The first two were kidnapped by the squids, and it doesn't seem like this is the first time either. Seto is a sorcerer who left a few months ago to study the magical properties of water in some taiga biome. They all call gold "butter" and fight against squids._

_Jason- He __used to live on a star until it spontaneously combusted. He escaped but __crash-landed his spacecraft on Minecraftia. __He wears a spacesuit because his body can't handle the air here. _Jason has a space pig named Jeffrey and a space bat named Dillon. He met Sky and Ty when they were just kids.

_Jerome- He is a friendly bacca who saved me from the Endermen. Like all baccas, he is obsessed with axes. Jerome calls his diamond axe "Betty". He hates cooked fish (or "vile creatures" as he calls them) and likes to eat raw meat. Jerome was abandoned by his parents for being a runt, but he managed to survive on his own in the jungle until he joined the Sky Army. Jerome is also colorblind._

_Quentin- He is a blue mudkip that loves to use TNT. He's calm and collected, but don't call him a fish unless you're asking for a death sentence. Quentin and his family were driven out of their ocean home by the squids and were forced to live in a murky pond. He can live for a few days out of the water before drying out._

_Ian- He was raised in a big city until he left his family to look for adventure. He wears sunglasses indoors. When I asked him why, he gave me an uncomfortable look and left the room. Later he told me that his eyes react badly to the sun. I don't really believe him, but who am I to judge when I'm also hiding something? Sky wore sunglasses as well so that Ian wouldn't feel like the odd one out._

_When they asked me about myself, I told them that I was an orphan whose parents died from mobs. Technically that is true, but they don't know all the details. I also left out how I survived till now. All I said was that I kept exploring until the day the Endermen attacked me for no reason. I just have to remember not to accidentally reveal anything, and everything will be fine. My wounds will heal, and I'll go back home._

_Day 2- Today someone shot an arrow through my window. A note was attached to it. The note had a picture of Sky and Ty in a cage. Sky had a broken arm that was wrapped in a bloody sling, but he was sleeping peacefully. Ty looked a lot healthier than Sky, but his eyes were looking fearfully at whoever took the photo. Below the picture were two words: NO HOPE. They can't find whoever shot the arrow. Jason locked himself in his room and won't come out. Everyone else is just silent._

_Day 3- Today Jason finally removed my hip stitches. With the help of Jerome, I was finally able to stand up and walk! I asked Jason when I could go home. He looked at me and said, "Actually, I was going to ask if you would like to join the Sky Army." _

_I didn't know what to say. I heard Jerome mutter to himself, "Please say yes, please say yes..." and a big part of me wanted to. But I also knew that if they ever found out my secret, then they might hate me forever._

_Reluctantly, I said no. They all looked disappointed. Jerome asked me why I didn't want to stay. I told him that I was more used to living alone. Jason said that Jerome could take me home first thing tomorrow. I feel so bad right now. They've treated me so well, and here I am rejecting their offer._

* * *

Lord Enderlox swirled the water around with his claw, chuckling gleefully to himself. "Hey." a squid said. "What's that thing in your hands?"

"It's a scrying bowl."

"What's a scrying bowl?"

"It allows me to see whatever I want, now shut up. I'm trying to concentrate." The squid whimpered and swam away. Lord Enderlox's black slits stared into the water intensely. The winged creature felt satisfaction when an image rippled into view. It was a fortified building, and he knew that this was the Sky Army's home base. It was nighttime, and all of its inhabitants were fast asleep. Cold black fire formed in Lord Enderlox's palm. His sharp fangs shone in the darkness as he smiled sadistically.

_ "Let the nightmares begin..."_

* * *

Jerome was in the jungle, Betty flashing in the sunlight as the axe sliced through another zombie. He smiled as he felt the wind brush past his fur and the adrenaline coarse through his body. Then everything went wrong. Jerome screamed as he felt himself falling and falling...

_Crunch. _Jerome lay on the ground, his blood staining the dirt around him. It hurt to breathe, and he couldn't feel his legs. He coughed weakly as he saw two baccas approach him.

"He's just a worthless runt." the male said.

"We should leave him." the female said. "He'll die soon, and he'll never amount to anything."

"He's useless."

"Useless."

_"Useless..." _Jerome turned to see all of his friends staring coldly at him. "You're a useless bacca, and we don't need you anymore..." Jerome screamed when he saw the blinding flash as a blade descended upon him.

Jerome's eyes snapped open. His heart pounded in his chest and his quick breaths broke the silence in the room. _It was a dream. Thank Notch it was just a dream... _Then he heard whimpers coming from Mitch, who was shifting erratically in his bed. Jerome's legs wobbled like jelly as he stood up and walked over to him.

* * *

12 year old Mitch stared in horror at the body lying in front of him. Red blood slowly dripping from the blade of the iron sword in his hands. It clattered on the floor as he threw it away from him in disgust. "No. No, no, no, no, no. This is bad, this is very bad..." Mitch muttered as he clutched his sandy-brown hair with his fingers.

Two men entered the room, their inventories filled with diamonds. "What the fuck did you do?" the tall, skinny one asked.

"Is he dead?" the muscular one asked, his cat-like eyes scanning the scene. Mitch looked away shamefully. "ANSWER ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he yelled, raising his hand threateningly.

"I-I-It was an accident, I swear!" Mitch stammered in panic.

"What were your orders?" the first man asked icily.

"D-Distract him, lead him away from the house, and meet you back in the cave when you're done."

"Were the words, 'Kill him' anywhere in those orders?" Mitch sobbed as he shook his head.

"EXACTLY!" the second man screamed. He grabbed Mitch by the shoulder and slapped his face, making the boy scream in pain. "SO WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KILL HIM? DO YOU _WANT_ US TO GET CHARGED FOR MURDER?"

"No, but he was choking me-"

"We don't have time for your shitty excuses." the first man said bitterly. "By the time they find the body, we need to be far away from here. I do _not _want to be caught with a murder charge. But first, I want you to remember." The man grabbed Mitch and held him tightly, forcing him to look at the body. "Remember what you did. If you ever get cold feet about being a thief, just remember this body. You're no less guilty than we are, but you're a failure and we're not. This'll be the last time you disobey our orders. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

The boy rubbed his red cheek and nodded. "We need to go." the second man said. "Now." The first man clutched Mitch's arm tightly and forcefully dragged him out the house. The image of the man's wide eyes and the blood running out of his chest would forever haunt Mitch's mind.

* * *

"Mitch, wake up!" Jerome said as he shook his friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Mitch screamed as he opened his eyes. He sobbed and buried his face in his hands.

Jerome patted Mitch's shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, it was just a nightmare. It wasn't real."

"No, it _was_ real, and it was all my fault!" Mitch said as he sniffled. "I'm a horrible person!" Jerome was about to reply when he heard Quentin yell.

_Is everyone having nightmares tonight? _Jerome wondered as he and Mitch headed over to Quentin's room. By the time they got there, the mudkip was already awake. "I'm okay, it was just a really bad dream about the day the squids drove my family out."

"Mitch and I also had nightmares." Jerome said.

"That's weird. You know, I hardly ever dream, but tonight I did." Quentin said.

"At least it's dawn." Mitch said quietly. "I don't want to go back to sleep."

"Same here." Jerome said. Little did they know that there was an intruder in their midst...

* * *

Ian yawned and opened his eyes. Unlike his friends, he hadn't had any bad dreams. Ian stood up and looked out the window to see the pale sun rising above the horizon. A normal person would have admired its beauty, but Ian put his hands to his eyes and gasped. _Oh_ _Notch, my blindfold! Did I forget to put it on before going to bed? _He desperately looked on the table for his sunglasses and saw with horror that they were shattered on the floor.

A few minutes later, Jason slowly opened Ian's door. He sighed with relief when he saw Ian sitting on his bed facing away from the door. "Ian? Sorry to bother you, but I had a nightmare about the day my home star blew up..." Ian didn't respond. "Ian?" Jason asked nervously.

"I HATE YOU, JASON!" Ian screamed as he turned to face the surprised space man, a sharp knife clutched in his hands. "I HATE YOU SO MUCH!" Jason watched in horror as Ian's ice blue eyes slowly moved in opposite directions.

**(A/N: Well I guess Ian's a... *puts on sunglasses* ...shady fellow. *is shot*)**


	5. Chapter 5

Jason's heart pounded furiously in his chest as he ran down the hallway as fast as he could. Ian was close behind in hot pursuit, giggling madly. "I'm coming for you, Jason!" he yelled.

The space man burst into Quentin's room and slammed the door shut. He struggled to keep the door closed as Ian banged repeatedly against it. "Ian's lost his mind!" Jason cried out. He screamed in terror as the blade stabbed through the wooden door to his right. Quentin and Jerome pulled Jason back as the door was knocked down. Mitch recoiled in fear when he saw the wild look in Ian's blue eyes.

"Heeeere's Ian!" Ian smiled as he waved his knife in the air.

"Ian, drop the knife!" Jerome screamed. "Drop it right now!"

"No! It's my knife, and you can't have it!" Ian shouted. "Go get your own, I have to use mine to kill Jason!"

"Where are your sunglasses?" Jason yelled as he dodged another swipe of the knife. He took a step back, but he slipped and fell into Quentin's pool with a splash. Jason's space suit weighed him down, so he sunk to the bottom like a stone.

"I can see everything so clearly this way!" Ian replied. He tried jumping into the pool as well, but Mitch tackled him to the ground. He tried to pin Ian down, but he was still weak from his injuries. After the two rolled on the floor for a couple moments, Ian managed to press his knees down on Mitch's shoulders so that he couldn't move. Mitch whipped his head from side to side in an effort to unseat him, but he stopped when he felt the cold metal of the knife press against his throat. Mitch grabbed Ian's wrist and struggled to keep the blade away from him. His heart pounded faster and stronger with each inch the knife came closer to his face. When he thought that it was all over for him, Mitch closed his eyes.

Mitch gasped when he felt someone yank Ian off of him. He looked up to see Jerome covering Ian's eyes with a blindfold. Quentin wrenched Ian's knife from his hands before restraining Ian. Ian screamed and struggled against his friends, but eventually he calmed down with several shuddering breaths. Mitch pulled Jason out of the water.

"Guys?" Ian asked quietly. He winced and put his hand to his forehead. "Ugh, what happened?" He gasped loudly when he remembered. "I snapped, didn't I? Did I hurt anyone?"

"Well besides trying to kill Mitch and I and scaring the shit out of all of us..." Jason responded, "...no, you didn't hurt anyone."

Ian sighed in relief. "Okay, that's good."

"So is that what really happens when you don't wear your sunglasses?" Mitch asked.

Ian sighed. "Yeah. I actually have this rare condition where my mind reacts badly with sunlight. That's why I wear sunglasses all the time. When I go to sleep, I have to put on a blindfold because moonlight is just reflected sunlight. I'm sorry I lied to you about this, Mitch, it's just..."

"It's okay, Ian. I forgive you." Mitch replied.

"When I woke up, my blindfold was missing. I found my sunglasses shattered on the floor." Ian said. "Someone was in my room last night; it's the only explanation."

"But who could have done it?" Jason asked. "All of us were sleeping." His voice lowered. "Or at least trying to..."

Quentin looked at Jason. "Did you have a nightmare too?" Jason nodded. "How about you, Ian?"

Ian shook his head. "I didn't have any nightmares."

"Sky and Ty were kidnapped by the squids." Jerome said. "All of us except Ian get nightmares. Someone sneaks into Ian's room and makes him go insane. It can't all be coincidences. I'm starting to think that maybe we're up against more than just squids..."

* * *

"How right you are, bacca. How right you are..." Lord Enderlox said, chuckling as he stared into his scrying bowl. "You did quite well, Farlander #169. Now they're shaken up and afraid."

"Thank you, my lord." the Enderman said.

"You are dismissed of duty for now." Lord Enderlox said. Farlander #169 disappeared.

There was a flash of purple as another Enderman teleported to the room. "Farlander #1080! You were supposed to report back to me two days ago!" Lord Enderlox exclaimed. "Where is the rest of your troop?"

"Dead, my Lord." the Enderman said, bowing his head. "We encountered the Eighth of the Prophecy in the jungle."

"And you were no match for him? Why does he still live?"

"The Seventh arrived to save him. Before that, we were all attacking the Eighth, but he bore a fragment, my Lord."

"He bore a fragment?" Lord Enderlox asked incredulously.

"I do not believe he knows its true powers." Farlander #1080 replied. "But it still prevented us from killing him."

Lord Enderlox sighed and put a clawed finger to his temple, deep in thought. "Very well, Farlander #1080. But because of your failure to protect the members of your troop, you are relieved of your soldier rank. Your new duty is to train the inexperienced ones. You are dismissed for now."

"Yes, my Lord." the Enderman said, teleporting away. The winged creature looked back at his scrying bowl to see the Seventh and Eighth leaving for the jungle.

* * *

Mitch didn't speak to Jerome. He was still regretting his decision to leave the Sky Army. Eventually Jerome caught the lingering smell of Endermen and blood, and he knew that this was where he had first met Mitch. Mitch suddenly gasped as he grabbed something lying beneath a tree. It was a bow, and it was snapped in half. Mitch's lip wobbled as tears filled his eyes. "It was my mother's." Mitch said quietly, wiping his eyes. He wasn't going to cry over a _bow_, of all things.

"I'm sorry." Jerome replied solemnly. Mitch paused for a moment before dropping the bow. It was useless now. His eyes lit up and he smiled when he saw something else glittering on the ground. "A necklace?" Jerome asked skeptically as Mitch picked it up.

"Dog tag." Mitch corrected. He put it on and instantly felt rejuvenated. "My home's not far from here."

Suddenly they heard growling behind them. Mitch and Jerome turned around to see an Enderman who did _not_ look happy to see them. Jerome mentally hit himself for forgetting to bring a bucket of water. He pulled out Betty. Mitch nocked an arrow and drew it back on the bowstring. He fired the arrow, but the Enderman had already teleported. The air was knocked out of Mitch as the Enderman slammed him against a tree. Jerome swung Betty, injuring the Enderman slightly. Farlander #1088 grabbed Betty from Jerome's paws and threw her away. Jerome was tossed aside like a ragdoll.

"Leave them alone!" someone screamed as a torrent of water splashed the Enderman. Farlander #1088 disappeared with a scream of pain and didn't come back. Jerome and Mitch saw their savior emerge from the trees. He was wearing a grey jacket with a red creeper face painted on it and gray pants. A red sash was tied around his waist. The mysterious person lowered his purple hood to reveal his face.


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N:Previously, on Jadespade's _Soul_...**

**...Seto. SETO! SETO. SETO! SETO!1! SEEEEEEETTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOO!11!**

**Oh my butter god I didn't know so many Seto fans existed.)**

* * *

"SETO!" Jerome shouted happily.

The sorcerer rolled his eyes. "No, this isn't Seto. This is his long-lost twin brother- OOF!" Jerome almost knocked him over as he gave him an almost bone-crushing hug. "CAN'T. BREATH. JEROME!"

The bacca smiled sheepishly as he let go of Seto. "Sorry biggums, it's just been so long..."

* * *

Mitch groaned weakly as he looked around. He could see Jerome talking with Seto, but something else caught his attention. Familiar ivy-green eyes were peering the trees. His heart nearly skipped a beat. The bright eyes belonged to a man that Mitch hadn't seen in almost six years. He glanced blankly at the diamond axe in the man's hands. _**That's Jerome's...**_ Mitch thought vaguely. The man disappeared into the trees. **_He stole Betty..._ **Mitch's world spun around wildly as he stood up shakily. He shook his head to clear his vision. **_Breath in and out. In and out. Keep your head clear. Don't let him get away... _**Mitch stumbled away from the clearing.

* * *

Branches and leaves cracked under the thief's run-down shoes as he ran. The diamond axe in his hands would be enough to feed him for weeks. It was worth a lot more than a normal diamond axe because it had been crafted by a bacca. However, his victory was short-lived. Someone slammed him into the tree, knocking the wind out of him with a huff. The thief felt the cold metal of a knife press against his throat. He swallowed nervously as he looked into a pair of bright amber eyes. The man gasped when recognized those eyes, except the last time he had seen them they had belonged to a child, not a teenager. He saw no signs of fear in them; instead, they were burning with pure hatred.

"Drop the axe." Mitch growled.

"Or what?" the thief asked boldly.

"I said _drop the axe._ That's an order, and you'll pay if you don't obey." Mitch said, silently noting the man's ragged clothes and unkempt blonde hair. "Isn't that what you and James always said to me? You don't like it when you're not the one saying it, do you Nathan?"

Nathan held the axe even tighter. "Do you know what happened when you left us?" he said angrily. "We couldn't steal anything without getting caught. It took us years to escape the prison. We ran out of food, and James starved to death. I need that axe to survive!"

"Then maybe you should have gotten a job that didn't require breaking the law! Maybe you shouldn't have manipulated a child for your own needs!" Mitch argued. "But karma's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Is there a chance we could let bygones be bygones?" Nathan asked hopefully.

"In your dreams." Mitch replied.

"Mitch, what are you doing? Why does he have my axe?" Both turned to see Jerome and Seto standing there.

Mitch was about to reply when Nathan interrupted him. "He never told you, did he?" Nathan smirked. "He never told you about his life?"

"Don't you dare tell them." Mitch mumbled. He looked at the sneering expression on Nathan's face and screamed angrily, "SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!"

"Or what? You'll kill me like you killed that innocent man?"

Mitch's eyes widened and his face paled. "I... I..." he stammered, lowering the knife from Nathan's neck.

"You're lying!" Jerome said indignantly. "Mitch would never murder someone! Right, Mitch?" Mitch looked at Jerome regretfully. "Mitch?" Mitch turned and ran away from them. "Mitch wait!" Jerome tried to follow Mitch, but Seto put a hand to Jerome's shoulder to stop him.

Seto saw Nathan trying to escape from the corner of his eye. The sorcerer's hands crackled with magical energy as he turned to the man. Nathan screamed in terror and dropped the axe. "Okay, okay, you can have the axe back! Just don't kill me!"

"I wasn't planning to." Seto said as he grabbed Betty and handed it to Jerome. "But first, tell us about this 'murder' Mitch committed."

"Hah!" Nathan scoffed. "Did you think I'd give you that info for free? Give me food!"

Seto sighed and gave the starving man a cooked chicken. "Happy now?"

Nathan looked at the chicken greedily. "Thanks for the food. See you." He turned and ran off, leaving Seto and Jerome stunned by his sudden departure.

Seto and Jerome heard footsteps to their right. They looked to see the gaping, flashing face of a creeper. "Gah!" Seto screamed as he instinctively hurled a small ball of energy at the monster. It died with a hiss of pain. Seto's face paled when he saw several more creepers sprinting towards them. "RUN!" Seto yelled as he grabbed Jerome by the arm and dragged him away.

Seto and Jerome plunged through the jungle, the green creepers chasing them relentlessly. Jerome swung Betty and Seto used his magic, but both knew that there were too many creepers to defeat. "Up there!" Jerome said as he pointed to a tree. They climbed the vines as quickly as they could. When they reached the top, they looked down to see Nathan trying to follow them. His foot slipped as part of the vines broke. Nathan grabbed onto the remaining vine on the tree, but his fingers were slipping fast.

"Help me!" Jerome and Seto saw about twenty creepers below Nathan, all ready to kill him if he fell. "Help me please!" he begged. But all of them knew that there was nothing that could be done. Suddenly, there was a terrible snapping sound. Nathan's green eyes stared in horror at the severed vine in his hands. He let out one last scream as he fell to his doom. Jerome and Seto shielded their eyes when they saw some of the creepers flash white. _Sssssss..._

The explosion made the tree shake violently. Jerome and Seto coughed as the smoke cleared. Nathan was obviously dead. The remaining creepers looked up at the two survivors with their black beady eyes, hissing in frustration. The green monsters turned and walked away towards an empty cliff. "They gave up that easily?" Seto asked skeptically.

"Unless..." Jerome squinted and saw someone else sitting on the cliff, blissfully unaware of the danger behind him. His blood ran cold when he recognized the person. "They found Mitch!" Jerome and Seto slid down the vines as fast as they could and ran towards the cliff, but they were too late. Jerome heard the scream of pure terror that would haunt his nightmares forever. He could barely hear Seto yelling at him to take cover, but he ignored the sorcerer. Time seemed to slow down as Jerome's heart pounded with each futile step he took, all the while knowing that he wouldn't make it in time. "MITCH LOOK OUT!"

**BOOM.**

The force of the blast knocked Jerome over painfully. Jerome closed his eyes instinctively, but he could still see the red flash of light from behind his eyelids. All Jerome could hear was the ringing in his ears. His eyes watered and his throat hurt from the smoke in the air. The bacca could smell his singed fur. But none of that mattered to him right now. **_  
_**

"JEROME!" Seto screamed as he ran over to him. He knelt by Jerome and helped him sit up. "Jerome, are you okay?"

Jerome coughed weakly as Seto brushed the soot and grime off of him. "Seto..." he stuttered in a raspy voice. "Where's... Mitch..."

Seto looked at the demolished cliff. He could hear the churning of the fast river below. There was a slim chance that Mitch had survived. "Stay here." Seto said. "I'll go see if Mitch is still alive." Jerome nodded slowly and prayed for a miracle as Seto made his way down the cliff. A few minutes later, Jerome saw Seto coming back. The sorcerer looked at Jerome sadly and opened his palm. In it was Mitch's dog tag, and it was covered in blood.


	7. Chapter 7

Sky's teeth clattered in his mouth as he shivered and attempted to sleep. All he had was a single torch to give him warmth and light. Sky didn't even have his amulet to comfort him; Lord Enderlox had taken it away. Squids would constantly swim by to taunt him relentlessly. But as miserable as he was, Sky knew that things could be a lot worse. At least Lord Enderlox had been "kind" enough to heal his broken arm. The reason why, he still had no clue.

There seemed to be no escape out of the prison. One time Sky had managed to jump out of the cage when the squids had opened the door to feed him. Sky had only swum five feet before getting caught.

Grunts of pain and frantic splashes disturbed his thoughts. Sky looked down and saw the two squid guards sinking in the water. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw dark blue blood in the pool. Sky felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he heard the cage door open.

"Please wake up." a voice asked timidly. Sky looked up to see a squid staring at him. One of its tentacles was holding a butter sword. "Here to help."

Sky shied away from the squid instinctively. "Why should I trust you?" Sky said harshly.

"I'm different." the squid replied as it tossed the sword to Sky. Sky hesitated for a moment before picking it up. He suddenly felt a lot safer with the sword in his hand. Most importantly, it was made out of butter.

"Thanks, but why are you doing this?" Sky asked.

"You're the First." the squid replied cryptically.

"The First of what?"

"The Prophecy..." The squid suddenly gasped and stood completely still. Sky watched in awe as the squid's eyes turned as blue as the morning sky.

"Uh, hello? Are you still there?" Sky asked in utter confusion. He waved a hand in front of the unresponsive squid. "Earth to squid!"

"Lord Ender was punished by his brothers for giving the gift of fear to man. He was cast into the End and was trapped for ages." the squid chanted. "The Eighth has fallen... The Eighth has fallen!" The squid shook its head violently and its eyes turned black again. It whimpered slightly and quivered.

"Are you okay?" Sky asked with concern.

"You need to go." it said quickly, ignoring Sky's question. "No time left."

"But what happened to you?" Sky asked. "Your eyes changed color and you started saying these weird things!"

"I'm different." the squid repeated in a shaky voice as it jumped back into the pool. Sky decided to save the million questions whirling around in his head for later as he followed the squid into the water. "Open that door." the squid said, gesturing with its tentacle. "Go through a painting. The skull one."

"Then what?" Sky asked.

"Avoid iron doors. Go through wooden ones. Find the exit."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about this?" Sky asked skeptically. "How do you know this anyway?"

"I listened and saw." the squid replied vaguely.

Sky decided to trust the squid because he had no other option. He mumbled the directions under his breath one more time. "Got it."

"Good luck." the squid said. "Lead the Army. Save us all."

"Uh, sure. Thanks." Sky replied as he exited the pool and walked up to the door. He had one hand on the doorknob when he paused and turned around. "What's your name-" Sky began to ask, but the squid had already left. Feeling a sense of uneasiness, he opened the door and shut it behind him.

He found himself in a strange gallery hall. Dozens of paintings hung on the walls, and they were so close with each other that the myriad of colors seemed to mix and morph together. It was making Sky's head hurt. The skull, he remembered. Sky walked through the skull painting to find a tunnel concealed behind it. At the end of the tunnel there were two doors: one iron and one wooden one.

Out of curiosity, Sky peeked through the iron door to see what was in it. He saw a man frozen in midair, surrounded by a black magical aura. His green eyes were wide in horror and his mouth was open, letting out a scream that no one could hear. Sky thought that the man looked strangely familiar, but he didn't know why. He was tempted to walk in the room, but he remembered the squid's advice.

He went through the wooden door to see two other doors. Sky avoided the iron door and opened the wooden one to see two more doors. It went on like this for about ten minutes, and Sky wondered if he was just going around in a circle and if the squid had tricked him.

He opened another wooden door to see a hallway. Sky thought that he had finally found the exit. He heard the sound of a rope snapping as he activated a tripwire. Sky's vision darkened as he was struck by a Blindness Effect.

He saw a sign by the door that read "Nightmare Halls." He swallowed nervously as mysterious purple runes glowed in the air. The faint smell of brimstone hung in the air. Sky heard the ghosts of whispers and screams as the runes slowly faded away. The walls suddenly seemed too narrow and made him feel extremely claustrophobic. "You're going to be okay, Sky." he said to himself weakly, putting a hand to his sword. Sky panicked when he realized that it wasn't there anymore. He swallowed nervously and mustered up the courage to speak. "H-Hello?" Sky's voice echoed around the dark halls. The torches on the walls emitted cold and pitiful lights that only made him more uneasy. "Is anyone there?" _There... there... there..._

"Sky..." someone rasped. Sky whirled around to see Seto lying on the floor. His skin was sickly-green and red blood slowly oozed from a large bitemark on his neck.

"Seto?!" Sky said shrilly as he knelt down by the fallen sorcerer. "Oh Notch, who did this to you?"

Seto gazed blankly at Sky. Sky could already see the life fading from his brown eyes. "Jerome and Quentin..."

"They did this?" Sky asked in disbelief.

"The virus..." A small ball of fire formed in the sorcerer's hand, making shadows dance demonically on the walls. "Mustn't... Turn..."

"Seto, what-"

"Goodbye..." Sky screamed in horror and shock as Seto suddenly dropped the ball of fire on himself. The acrid smell of burning flesh filled the air as the flames greedily devoured the sorcerer.

"SETO! SETO NO!" Coughing from the smoke that stung his throat, Sky turned around and ran as fast as he could. Once he was far away enough, he choked out a sob and sunk to the ground. Sky had just watched his friend burn himself to death, and he had been powerless to stop him. "I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming..." he repeated over and over again. "Please let this just be a dream..." But everything seemed too real.

"NO PLEASE! GET AWAY FROM ME! NO!" The blood drained from Sky's face. That had been Ian's voice. There was a loud scream of agony followed by a disturbing crunching sound. Sky held his breath and stood very still when he heard zombies growling. The zombies slowly shuffled away until Sky couldn't hear them anymore. Sky silently made his way to where Ian's voice had been.

There was a gaping, bloody hole where Ian's stomach had once been. His ice-blue eyes were filled with tears of pain. "S-S-Sky?" Ian said shakily as he slightly convulsed on the floor. "I-I-It hurts..." he whimpered. Ian clutched Sky's hand tightly as he coughed up bright-red blood. "R-Run..." With those final words, he closed his eyes and released his grip.

"No! Not you too!" Sky yelled as he felt Ian's wrist for a pulse. He panicked when he found none. "Ian wake up! Don't leave me here!" Sky almost gasped with relief when he saw Ian open his eyes again. He scrambled backwards in horror when he saw that they were coal-black instead of blue. The zombie Ian grabbed Sky's leg and growled, making him scream in terror. Sky kicked Ian away and stood up quickly. Adrenaline ran through Sky's blood as he grabbed a torch and beat Ian's head repeatedly with it until the zombie stopped moving. Pools of red and green blood stained the floor.

There was no time to mourn his dead friend. Sky heard low growls coming from behind him. His heart nearly skipped a beat when two familiar zombies staggered into view. Jerome and Quentin's ragged arms reached out to Sky as they shuffled towards him. Sky's mind screamed desperately for him to run, but his feet seemed permanently glued to the ground as his body went numb. He noticed that Jerome's fur was matted with blood and gore and that Quentin's flippers were a horrifically beautiful shade of blue-green. Both were staring at him coldly and blankly. They were just a few feet away when Sky broke out of his trance and began to run. His feet thumped against the cobblestone floor and his heart pounded furiously against his chest as if it were trying to break out of his ribcage. The zombies were close behind him in hot pursuit.

Just when he thought that he wouldn't make it, Sky reached an iron door. He opened it and slammed it shut. The zombies moaned as they tried unsuccessfully to break in. Sky panted with fear and exhaustion as he stepped away from the door. There was an audible crunching sound as he stepped on something. He lifted up his foot to see orange shards. Sky looked around to see Jason lying on the floor a few feet away. Sparks flew from his broken space suit as blue blood spilled from his shattered helmet. "JASON!" Sky knelt by his friend. "Not you too! Who did this to you?" Sky asked desperately. "Why is this happening to us?"

Jason laughed suddenly and coughed up blue blood, sending shivers down Sky's spine. He couldn't recall Jason ever sounding so cruel in his whole life. "Who did this to me? Why is this happening? You actually don't know?" The space man guffawed as he quickly stood up, oblivious to his numerous fatal wounds. "Oh, this is priceless. I'll tell you what happened. _You_ happened."

Sky was taken aback at his friend's harsh words. His voice shook as he stuttered through his tears. "I... I don't... Why would you..."

"This is all your fault, Sky!" Jason screamed. "We all decided to look for you when you and Deadlox got kidnapped! Then we got trapped in these damn tunnels and Jerome and Quentin got infected by a virus! Everyone's dead because of you, Sky! Everything that happened to us is your fault!"

"I'm sorry!" Sky cried out as he buried his face into his hands. "I-I didn't mean to kill them! I'm so sorry, Jason!"

"_Sorry _doesn't cut it, Sky." Jason said coldly. "_Sorry_ isn't going to bring any of our friends back to life." Sky looked up to see Jason pointing one of his guns at his head. "Maybe I'm dying, but if I'm going down, I'm making sure you're going down with me."

Sky backed away, his golden eyes glued to the barrel of the gun. "Jason, put the gun down! Please! It doesn't need to be like this..." Sky pleaded. Jason gazed at Sky coldly and tightened his grip on the gun. "Jason, listen to me!"

_Why should he?_ Seto's voice suddenly asked.

_Yeah, why should Jason listen to you?_ Ian said icily. _You let me die. You didn't even lift a finger to help me._

Sky whimpered and put his arms over his head in a futile effort to block out the voices of his angry friends. And then the worst voice of all spoke. _You watched me die, Sky. You watched as Lord Ender stole my body and released my soul. Leader of the Sky Army? Don't be stupid. A true leader doesn't let their friends die right in front of them, do they?_

The space man paused for a moment before lowering the gun. "I've changed my mind, Sky. I'm not a murderer like you." He spat with contempt. Jason shifted the gun's aim so that the bullet shot past Sky's shoulder. Sky whirled around to see that the bullet had hit a button on the wall. The iron door opened and Jerome and Quentin let out bloodthirsty moans as they approached the two. "I hope your soul rots in the Nether." Jason said with sadistic glee as he watched Sky back away from the zombies into the corner. Sky screamed in pain and horror as Jerome's claws dug into his flesh. He smelled Quentin's foul breath as the zombie pulled Sky's head back to sink its fangs into his neck...

Sky's golden eyes suddenly snapped open and he let out several shuddering gasps. It took him several moments to realize that he was lying on the floor, soaking wet with sweat and tears. His throat was hoarse from screaming so much. Jerome, Quentin, and Jason were gone, and the hallway was bright again. Sky looked up to see Lord Enderlox sneering at him. "Good evening Sky, or should I say good afternoon? You slept through the whole day." Lord Enderlox paused. "I did warn you what would happen if you tried to escape again. Did you really think that it was going to be so simple?"

Sky tried to muster up a spiteful remark, but all he could do was break down into traumatized sobs. The Nightmare Halls had manifested every single thing he feared and made them so vivid and intense that it had completely shut down his mind and logic.

"Just as I expected." Lord Enderlox muttered. "You know, one can learn a lot about a person just from their fears. And I must say that your results are quite interesting. I was expecting the squids to at least make one appearance. Instead, your greatest fear is losing your friends. How _touching_." Lord Enderlox said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sky managed to sit up and calm himself down slightly. He glared at Lord Enderlox, who smirked in return and continued.

"Fear is a powerful emotion, Sky. It can completely dominate the five senses and can turn even the bravest of people into the most cowardly of all. But there is one thing that can overcome fear, and that is hope. I recall you telling me that you believed that your friends would save you, right?" Sky nodded slowly. "Well, Sky, I intend to completely destroy that hope of yours."

Before Sky could react, Lord Enderlox whipped out a sharp knife and stabbed him in his chest. He cried out as he felt the blade pierce his back, impaling him. The winged creature pulled the knife out and let Sky's body fall limply onto the floor. He gasped and convulsed on the floor as blood quickly pooled around him. Sky could tell that Lord Enderlox had hit several major blood vessels. Mercifully, the initial agonizing pain quickly receded to numbness as his heartbeat slowed.

Lord Enderlox knelt beside the dying Sky, his face completely void of emotion. "Where are your friends now?" Lord Enderlox whispered.

Somewhere in Sky's muddled mind, he registered the fact that he would never see his friends again. They were back at home base, blissfully unaware that Sky was dying. And yet he was glad, because at least they were safe and unharmed. Although he'd never live again, all that mattered to him were his friends.

Sky couldn't feel the tears that glistened his golden eyes. He was still upset that he was going to leave the world alone. He sought comfort in Lord Enderlox's face, because although his eyes were black and not red, he still looked exactly like Deadlox. And then Sky was consoled by the knowledge that Deadlox and his parents was waiting for him somewhere in the Aether. His vision blurred and began darkening around the edges, signalling that Sky's time was almost up.

_Ty... Jason... Seto... Quentin... Ian... Jerome..._

_Thanks for being there for me..._

The darkness dominated his vision and then brightened. Sky felt the inexplicable feeling of flying as he rose high and above into the white clouds. The world spun around below him, but Sky didn't notice. He felt strangely peaceful and he just felt so _free_..._  
_

Lord Enderlox watched Sky's eyes and was reminded of the inevitable sunset, when the golden, fiery sun slowly fades out and the sky bleeds red and darkens. A ghost of a smile lingered on Sky's lips. "Mom? Dad?" he said quietly. "Are... you... proud..." Sky never got an answer. The light was gone. Evening had come.


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N: Did you catch the Portal reference in the previous chapter?)**

_Flashback..._

"Honey, wake up! It's time for school!" Deadlox's mother yelled loudly, making Deadlox open his eyes. He squinted in the morning sunlight.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Deadlox said as he dragged himself out of the warm bed and down the stairs. He plopped down on the chair and sighed. His mother emerged from the kitchen, her brown hair tied messily into a bun and her red eyes gleaming with pride.

"I baked your favorite!" his mother said happily as she placed a slice of pumpkin pie in front of the thirteen-year-old.

"Oh. Thanks Mom."

His mother's lips pursed as she gazed at his son with concern. "Are you alright, hon?"

"Yeah." Deadlox said as he forced a smile.

"Those bullies still bothering you?" Deadlox kept silent as he stabbed the pie with his fork and brought it to his lips, chewing it slowly. It felt like glue in his mouth. "DEADLOX TYLER MORTUI, DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME LIKE THAT!" Deadlox's back instantly straightened as he looked at his mother straight in the eyes. She composed herself and said in a more quiet tone, "Now tell me: are those bullies still bothering you?"

"No."

His mother scoffed. "And I'm expected to believe that when you look so depressed."

"Really, Mom, I'm just tired. And aren't you supposed to get to the bakery in ten minutes?"

His mother looked up at the clock in alarm. "Oh Notch, you're right!" She leaned over and pecked a kiss on Deadlox's forehead. "We'll continue this conversation later. Just ignore them. And please, at least try to make some friends. Love you, hon! Gotta go!" The frantic woman smoothed out her plain dress before racing out of the room. Deadlox sighed again when he heard the door slam shut. Reluctantly, he got ready for school.

* * *

"You are late, Mr. Mortui." the teacher drawled as he scribbled something on the board. "You were expected to be here at precisely 8 o'clock. You are one minute late."

"Sorry Mr. Reeder. It won't happen again."

Mr. Reeder frowned in disdain. "Take a seat, Mr. Mortui." Deadlox felt every eye in the room staring at him as he made his way to his desk in the very back. He fiddled with a blaze rod as he zoned out like usual, wondering if Mr. Reeder's purpose at Crafting Middle School was to bore everyone to death. Mr. Reeder suddenly cleared his throat and announced, "Class, we have a new student that moved here recently."

Deadlox almost dropped the blaze rod as he looked to see a boy his age spring up to the front. _And please, at least try to make some friends. _His mother's voice echoed in his mind. The boy had curly black hair and honey-colored eyes that were lit up with excitement. Deadlox's face fell when he saw the purple and golden amulet that hung over his fine black clothes. He was a rich kid, and he'd never befriend poor Deadlox. The boy would join the other kids like him and maybe even become a new bully.

"Hey guys!" the boy chirped as he waved his hand. "I'm Adam Amica, but most people call me Sky. I just moved from Spawn City!" Murmurs instantly broke out. Spawn City was one of the most expensive cities to live in. "I'm really excited to meet everyone here!" he continued.

"Thank you, Mr. Amica." Mr. Reeder said. "Find a seat. Class, set up your brewing stands and continue practicing how to brew a Potion of Night Vision. You may work with a partner."

Chatter filled the room as the students started working. Deadlox watched as Sky's smile faltered. The boy looked completely lost. "Hey Sky! You wanna work with us? I'm Michael!" a tall and gangly kid with spiky red hair and steel-gray eyes suddenly piped up.

"And I'm Dylan!" the rich kid next to Michael said, a big false smile plastered on his chubby, freckled face. Deadlox rolled his eyes. They were just acting friendly so they could have another rich kid in their posse.

"Thanks guys, but, uh, I don't know anything about brewing potions." Sky said quietly. "Back at my old school, I was supposed to start Potions class next semester. I'd just slow you guys down..."

"Don't worry, Sky!" Dylan said. "I can teach you! I'm the best at brewing potions!"

"Says the guy who blew up his brewing stand while making a Mundane Potion!" Michael countered back.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did n-" The two boys stopped arguing when they realized that Sky had already left them.

Deadlox had no idea what to do as Sky sat down next to him. On one hand, he was glad that Sky had chosen to sit with him instead of Michael and Dylan. On the other hand, when Sky found out how the other rich kids treated him, what little friendship they had would go tumbling out the window. Deadlox knew this all too well.

Sky's voice distracted him from his thoughts. "Hey, what's your name?" Sky asked, brimming with liveliness.

"I'm Deadlox, but you can call me Ty." he replied tentatively.

"Can I be your partner?"

"Sure, but why me?" Deadlox asked. "Why not them?" he said, pointing to Michael and Dylan, who were giving him jealous looks.

"You don't have a partner." Sky replied. "Plus," he leaned over to Deadlox's ear and whispered, "they smell terrible." Deadlox put a hand to his mouth and snickered. "It's true!" Sky said as he leaned back on his chair. Mr. Reeder suddenly cleared his throat and glared at both of them. _Get to work._ He mouthed.

Deadlox quickly crafted a brewing stand and grabbed a water bottle. "So you've never brewed potions before?" Sky shook his head. "Well first of all, you have to start every potion with a water bottle. Then we add other ingredients to the water to make different potions. You with me so far?" Sky nodded attentively. "Since we're making a Potion of Night Vision, we have to add Nether Wart to make an Awkward Potion." Deadlox continued, dropping some Nether Wart into a flask.

"An _Awkward_ Potion?" Sky asked as he started to giggle again.

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one who named it that!" Deadlox said, laughing as well. "Anyway, next you add a golden carrot."

"Oh! I know how to craft that!" Sky said, thrilled at finally knowing something. "You need eight butter nuggets and one carrot!"

Deadlox gave Sky a funny look. "_Butter_ nuggets?"

Sky's face turned red. "Sorry, it's just what I like to call gold." He looked down at his lap in embarrassment. "Don't make fun of me, okay?"

"What? I wouldn't do that! Why would I?" Deadlox asked with confusion.

Sky sighed. "Ty, can you keep a secret?" Deadlox nodded. Sky looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping before whispering, "The reason why my family moved here was because I kept getting bullied at school. It got so bad, I couldn't handle it anymore."

Deadlox was about to respond when he heard someone say, "Hey Sky! You wanna hang out with us during lunch?" Both of them looked up to see Michael and Dylan standing right next to them. Deadlox instinctively shied away from the two, making Sky glance at him with concern. Deadlox noticed that Mr. Reeder had left the room, which meant that Michael and Dylan could do whatever they wanted until he got back. Everyone else was staring at the four, knowing that something big was going to happen.

Sky fought the urge to crinkle his nose in disgust. "Uh, thanks, but no thanks. I'm going to sit with Ty for lunch." Deadlox looked at Sky in surprise.

"I've heard of your father before. He owns the one of the largest gold mines around here, doesn't he?" Dylan asked with admiration.

"Well, yeah..."

"Then why would you sit with _him_?" Dylan asked as he thrust a finger at Deadlox's direction. Deadlox looked at his lap in shame.

Sky's eyes narrowed. "Why not?"

"Oh that's right, you wouldn't know." Michael said condescendingly. "There's a reason why no one who's rich wants to sit with Deadlox at lunch. He always sits alone unless we dare someone to sit with him. Only the stupid kids sit with Deadlox. It's because he's so poor, he might as well live in the trash. His dad's a coal miner!" Michael and Dylan broke down into fits of laughter. Deadlox looked up and felt thankful when he saw Sky press his lips together in a straight line of disapproval.

"How much money does he make doing all of that dirty work, huh, Deadlox?" Michael taunted.

Deadlox glared daggers at them, but kept quiet. "There's nothing wrong with being a coal miner, Michael and Dylan." Sky said as evenly as possible. "Keep your mouths shut and leave Ty alone."

Dylan ignored Sky and said loudly, "His father's not the only one doing dirty work. At least my mother doesn't strip for money!"

Deadlox stood up as fast as lightning, grabbed Dylan by the collar of his shirt (which probably would have taken ten of his father's paychecks to purchase), and slammed the boy against the wall. "You take that back right now, you bastard!" Deadlox yelled fiercely. "Don't you fucking say that about my mother! She's ten times the man you'll ever be!"

Dylan squealed in terror. "Get your dirty hands off of me! Michael, Michael help!" Michael's gray eyes were wide open in surprise as he quickly stepped away from Deadlox, who had never reacted in such a violent way before.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" the rest of the class screamed.

Deadlox drew his arm back to punch Dylan in the face, but Sky grabbed his shoulder in an attempt to stop him. "Ty! Ty, let go of him! He's not worth it!"

"Let me go, Sky!" Deadlox screamed. "He needs to take back what he said about my mother!"

"Just drop him Ty! You're going to get in trouble!" Deadlox took several deep breaths to calm himself down as he let Dylan collapse on the floor.

Dylan whimpered as he stood up shakily. He shoved Deadlox as hard as he could to regain some of the little dignity he had to begin with and said, "Don't fucking touch me again." Normally Deadlox would have simply backed away, but he was tired. He was tired of listening to Michael and Dylan taunting and insulting him. He was tired of letting them push him around everyday. And so Deadlox decided to push back for once in his life. Unfortunately, Dylan landed on a table and crushed the brewing stands with a loud clatter.

"What. Is going on. In my classroom." Everyone's heads whipped around to see Mr. Reeder standing in the front, seething with anger. "I leave for ten minutes. _Ten_ _minutes. _And already a fight has broken out and two expensive brewing stands are broken. Would anyone care to explain?"

Deadlox opened his mouth to respond, but Dylan was faster. "He pushed me!" Dylan wailed as he pointed a chubby finger to Deadlox. "The glass cut me and my arms are bleeding!"

"Mr. Lemmens, take Mr. Fetger to the nurse." Mr. Reeder ordered.

Michael helped Dylan up and led him out of the room, who kept screaming, "MY DAD'S GONNA SUE YOU FOR THIS!" over and over again. Mr. Reeder turned to Deadlox, who was mentally hitting himself for letting his emotions get the better of him.

"Mr. Mortui, did you push Mr. Fetger?"

"I, I..." Deadlox hung his head. There was no use arguing. He knew that Mr. Reeder would never listen to him. "Yes, Mr. Reeder." he mumbled.

"Then you are expected to pay for the brewing stands." Mr. Reeder said. "That costs 750 pix in total." Deadlox clenched his fists tightly as the blood drained from his face. Never had he hated himself more than in this moment. His father would have to risk his life by digging even deeper into the mines and his mother would have to work overtime just to pay for the brewing stands that he had broken.

"You will also have to pay for Mr. Fetger's medical care." Mr. Reeder continued, adding salt to the open wound. Tears leaked out from Deadlox's red eyes as he closed them tightly, utterly ashamed. He could already see their disappointed faces...

"Ty, you don't have to cover for me." Sky said suddenly. "It was my fault, Mr. Reeder. I pushed Dylan."

Deadlox looked up at Sky in alarm. "No you didn't-"

Sky raised a hand to interrupt Deadlox. "Michael and Dylan were making fun of us, so I pushed Dylan. It was my fault. I should pay for everything."

Mr. Reeder's eyebrows raised in suspicion but quickly knotted back to their usual scowl. "Very well Mr. Amica. You are expected to pay for the damage and you also have detention after school for thirty minutes." The bell rang and everyone raced to be the first one out the door.

Deadlox trudged out of the classroom, visibly upset. Sky ran up to him. "Ty, are you okay?"

"Does it look like I am?" Deadlox said gloomily.

"If it's about what they said to you, just ignore them. Dylan deserved what he got." Sky said.

Deadlox stopped walking and turned to Sky. "Why did you lie to Mr. Reeder?" Deadlox asked. "I was the one who pushed him, not you."

"Did you _want_ to pay for all that?" Sky replied.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then don't complain. I have my own bank account. My dad'll never notice that I removed hundreds of pix."

"Well good for you." Deadlox said sarcastically. Sky gave Deadlox a hurt look. Deadlox sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"It's okay." Sky said.

"Thanks for taking the blame for me." Deadlox mumbled.

"It was nothing." Sky said. "That's what friends do for each other, right?"

Deadlox opened his mouth in surprise, then quickly shut it. He couldn't stop the smile that was pushing the corners of his lips. A friend. Deadlox finally had a friend. It would take his mind quite a while to wrap around that fact. "Yeah, that's what they do." Deadlox agreed after a moment of silence. "They help each other when one of them needs it most."

* * *

_End of Flashback..._

Lord Enderlox gazed at the body that lay very still in front of him. Sky was finally dead. He had emerged victorious. So why did he feel regretful all of a sudden? Lord Enderlox slowly closed Sky's eyes and carefully wiped away the remnants of tear tracks on Sky's face. Then he stood up and took one last look.

If one ignored the red blood that stained his body, one would believe that Sky was merely asleep. All of the fear and pain was gone from his face. He was filled with handsome youth and simplicity, and his lips were parted in a slight smile. He looked serene and peaceful as he lay on the cobblestone floor.

His soul was in the Aether now. There was nothing more he could do. Lord Enderlox spread his wings and left the body lying there. He had no urge to remove it. The creature felt that it was best to just forget about Sky, just as he had forgotten the faces of the millions he had murdered all those years ago.

* * *

The person opened his eyes to see that he was enshrouded in a blanket of darkness. He wondered where he was. Had the scythe of Herobrine himself finally struck him down and led him away to the depths of the Nether? No, he decided as he felt throbbing pains on his backside. He was still very much alive. Somehow, he had survived the ambush. He groaned as he attempted to move, but found that he was held down tightly by thick ropes. The person cleared his throat several times. "Hello?" he called out. He could make out something moving in the shadows. "Who's there?"

"Has anyone ever told you what beautiful eyes you have?" a male voice asked. The person caught the rancid smell of fish in the air and coughed. "I don't ever think I've ever seen such a lovely shade of amber before."

The person tensed up apprehensively and tried to shake off the feeling of uneasiness. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think it fits the situation quite nicely." the voice continued. "After all, you're like a fly caught in amber. You're trapped with no way to escape me." The voice chuckled. "I can already smell your fear. Tell me though, what is your name?"

"That's personal." the person replied as steadily as he could. "What if I don't want to tell you?"

"Oh well. I could always just force it out of you..."

The person winced as he heard two blades scrape together. He hesitated for a moment before replying. "My friends call me Mitch."


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N: Everyone check out YellowCrimson on deviantart! She drew a very butterful picture depicting chapter 3! Also, I made a list of theme songs for every character here: fav . me/d6ok6np, no spaces!)**

* * *

The sudden flash of light made Mitch shut his eyes tightly. He blinked rapidly as he took in his surroundings. The first things he noticed were the ropes around his wrists and ankles that bound him to a chair. Mitch tried to shake off the ropes, but they wouldn't loosen at all. He was in an old log house which stank with the musty smells of mold and fish. Mitch saw a bacca crouched on the floor facing away from him.

"Jerome?" Mitch asked in confusion. "Is that you?" The bacca slowly stood up and Mitch realized that he was much larger and older than Jerome. He turned around and Mitch squirmed uncomfortably when he saw the crazed look in the bacca's black eyes. His paws clutched a sharp diamond axe which flashed dangerously in the torchlight. "S-Sorry," Mitch stammered nervously, "I, I thought-"

"You are a strange human, Mitch." the bacca said. "Normally my guests start screaming in terror when they see who I am. Are you not afraid of baccas?"

"One of my best friends is a bacca." he replied.

Surprise flashed across the bacca's face. "A bacca? Friends with a human?" he replied. "How odd."

"How did I get here?" Mitch asked.

"I was out fishing when I saw you in the river. You almost drowned, but I'm glad I managed to save you. After all, it's no fun when my guests are dead."

"What's no fun? Why am I tied up?" Mitch swallowed nervously.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough. But as your host, it is my duty to introduce myself, no?" the bacca asked. Mitch didn't reply. He was too busy wondering about Jerome. Mitch had managed to jump off the cliff into the river, but had Jerome escaped the blast? Had he been killed? "Do you like my axe?" the bacca asked, interrupting Mitch's thoughts. "I call her Helga. She's been passed down through dozens of generations in my family." he mused, tracing the green blade with a sharp claw. "Of course, she's been through several heads throughout the years."

Mitch's face turned as white as a sheet. "Several... heads?"

The bacca looked confused for a moment before cracking up. "Oh, you thought I meant-" His laughter echoed through the house. All Mitch could do was stare at the bacca apprehensively. "You are very funny, Mitch. I meant several axe heads, not human heads."

Mitch relaxed and sighed in relief. "You scared me for a moment there."

"Helga's been through far more than just _several_ human heads." the bacca said, smiling fondly at the axe.

His breath caught in his throat as Mitch's amber eyes widened in horror. "You're crazy!" he yelled, sweat dampening his forehead.

The bacca laughed psychotically. "You're right! I _am_ crazy! I'm as loony as a bat! But Helga here doesn't care, right Helga?

The bacca lifted up his diamond axe and said in a falsetto voice, _"I will always love you, even if you're crazy and can't remember your own name! I love you and you love me! We'll always be together no matter what!"_

"Aw, Helga!" the bacca replied, reverting to his normal deep voice. "That's so sweet of you to say that!"

Mitch concentrated intensely and tried to summon his powers. Nothing happened. Why weren't they working? True, he hadn't used them for several years, but that wasn't the reason why he couldn't use them now. Mitch opened his eyes and realized that his dog tag wasn't around his neck anymore. Completely powerless, Mitch panicked. "HELP ME!" he screamed, hoping that someone could hear him. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

"Be quiet!" the bacca yelled as he raised a paw and struck Mitch in the face, tearing four claw marks on his cheek. Mitch's cries quieted down to mere whimpers of pain and fear. "Do you know how long it's been since the last human I ate? _One month. _That was one whole month with nothing to eat except fish."

"Please let me go," Mitch begged, "I'll do anything, just don't eat me..."

"Do you know what happens when a bacca eats cooked fish?" the insane bacca continued. Mitch didn't reply. He was hyperventilating and shaking in his seat. "_This happens_." the bacca continued, pointing at himself. "I lost my sanity, all because I was starving and desperate for something to eat." he said, shuddering at the memory. "Three of those vile creatures just lay there on the ground. Enticing me. Taunting me. And I ate those vile creatures. Every. Single. One of them." The bacca laughed under his breath. "Oh, I remember it like it was yesterday. The cramps, the vomiting, the wish for the sweet relief of _death_. And finally I simply lay there, too weak to move. I thought that death had come. But instead, I realized that the one thing I desired most in this world was _human blood_."

Somewhere in his frantic mind, Mitch remembered the dagger he kept in his back pocket. If only he could reach it... Mitch struggled desperately to loosen the ropes around his wrists until his hands were wet with sweat and blood. He managed to kick off the ropes that held his ankles down. "Get away from me!" he screamed as the bacca approached him with the diamond axe in his paws. "Leave me alone!" Mitch's heart was about to pound its way out of his chest. He was breathing so fast, he felt like passing out.

The bacca smirked and smiled even wider as he licked his lips in anticipation. "I think you'll serve as a tasty meal, Mitch. I can already smell the blood on your face. And it. Smells. Delicious." He lifted up his diamond axe above Mitch's head. Mitch's amber eyes hardened in determination as his mind suddenly cleared. He wasn't going to die. Not like this. Not right now. Mitch stood up slightly and turned around so that the axe hit the back of the chair, slicing the ropes that were tied around his midsection. The bacca yelped in surprise as Mitch took off. "What the- Hey! Get back here!" he yelled as he chased after Mitch, whose arms were still tied together.

Mitch shut the door behind him and took a moment to catch his breath. He was in what seemed like a dining room. Mitch saw a fireplace and ran towards it, hissing in pain as he held his wrists above the flames to burn the ropes off. Splinters of wood were knocked off the door as the bacca slammed his axe against it, laughing insanely. "Come on..." Mitch said urgently, willing the fire to burn faster. "Hurry up!"

The door came crashing down and the bacca ran towards him. "There's nowhere to hide, Mitch!" he yelled unstably. "There's nowhere to run either!"

Finally free to move his arms, Mitch grabbed his dagger from his back pocket and held it out in front of him. The bacca charged blindly towards Mitch, who barely managed to dodge the axe as it embedded in the wall. As he struggled to pull the axe out, Mitch ran up to the bacca and stabbed his back. It was a wound that would have killed a human, but unfortunately for Mitch, a mere dagger was not enough to kill a full-grown bacca. If anything, it just made him angrier.

The bacca howled in pain and whirled around, frothing at the mouth. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" the bacca screamed furiously as he forgot about the axe that was still stuck in the wall. Mitch grabbed a log from the fireplace and threw it at the bacca, who was knocked back from the blow. The log hit the floor and set it alight. The orange flames licked the air hungrily as they spread as quickly as blood. Mitch's eyes watered and he coughed as the smoke filled the air. His mind was a whirlwind of panic as Mitch stumbled his way to the door.

But the bacca was not going to let Mitch go so easily. He lunged at Mitch and tackled him to the floor. Mitch tried to scramble away and cried out as the bacca bit his leg and dug his claws into his back. He kicked the bacca in the face and hissed with pain as he stood up shakily. Flames danced across the bacca's cold black eyes as he bared his teeth at Mitch ferociously. Chills ran down Mitch's spine when he saw his own blood dripping from the crazed bacca's fangs. The bacca ran towards Mitch again, but the floor collapsed underneath him and he fell to his doom, screaming. Mitch tried to put as little pressure as possible on his injured leg as he limped out of the room.

It seemed like the Nether had morphed with the Overworld as Mitch made his way down the crackling stairs. Sparks flew everywhere as chaos and destruction reigned on the house. Chunks of burning wood fell from the ceiling, hellbent on trapping Mitch in the fiery house. Somehow Mitch managed to get to the bottom of the stairs, but as he approached the exit, a flaming log plunged downward. Mitch saw it coming but was too slow. Mitch screamed in pure agony as the burning plank scraped his arm. Stars filled his vision. White-hot pain sparked from his shoulder as he collapsed on the floor.

Fire. Somewhere in the back of Mitch's mind, he realized that his arm was on fire. It didn't fully register until the pain set in. Mitch waved his arm frantically in the air, yelling in terror until he came to his senses and rolled on the floor to smother out the flames. Mitch's breath came out in short gasps as he fought off unconsciousness. Passing out here meant certain death. Pure adrenaline alone kept Mitch moving as he grit his teeth, picked himself off the ground and escaped the collapsing house into the daylight.

It was a struggle to put one foot in front of the other as Mitch stumbled through the forest. His leg was bleeding a lot and it hurt to walk. His vision was blurry from his smarting eyes and Mitch crashed into several trees in his dazed stupor. It hurt to breathe. He felt like a hook was drawing out his burning lungs with each cough that was torn out of his throat.

Finally Mitch could move no longer. He leaned on a tree for support as he vomited up an acidic substance that burned his throat. Then Mitch broke into a violent coughing fit that wracked his whole body. He finally stopped and shuddered as he wiped his mouth with his hand. Mitch felt absolutely terrible. _None of this would have happened if you had just joined the Sky Army. But no, you were too scared to tell them the truth. _A voice in the back of his head nagged.

"Shut up." Mitch muttered to himself. "They gave me no reason to trust them."

_Hah! Lies! They saved your life, didn't they?_

"They would have just thrown me out once they found out that I murdered someone. Or maybe they would have taken advantage of my powers."

_How do you know that?_

Mitch ignored the voice in his head and sat down by the tree, exhausted. He examined the bite on his leg. It had already stopped bleeding, but he wondered why it still hurt so much. Mitch's vision swirled around him as he clutched his head, moaning. He looked up to see his mother leaning casually by a tree. "Now remember, Mitch," she said, looking at him with her piercing gray eyes, "always be careful when you hunt in the woods. Baccas live there. Some are friendly, but most are hostile. Even if you manage to avoid getting killed by their axes, their bites are poisonous. If you don't get immediate help, you get extreme hallucinations before death."

Mitch's stomach churned nauseously and he keeled over. He hyperventilated and gasped as his mother suddenly morphed into his sister, Tulip. She smiled creepily as her dark hair caught on fire and her blue eyes suddenly exploded into a million stars that giggled. One of the stars floated downwards like a snowflake and landed on his toes, dissolving into miniature versions of Team Crafted. Their happy voices echoed eerily before fading away into loud screams of horror that made Mitch cover his ears with his hands. The pungent smells of fish and blood filled the air until Mitch gagged. He vomited up purple liquid that stained the earth, up from which sprouted singing flowers.

Mitch shook his head and shivered. He tried to retain his sanity, but he couldn't do it. He just couldn't. Mitch closed his eyes and succumbed to the hallucinations, unable to block out the voices in his head.

_Real or not real?_


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N: Sorry, but this chapter is extremely short. But the next chapter will be a lot longer, so don't kill me yet!)**

Seto plucked the green herb from the ground, examined it carefully, and put it in a pouch with other magical plants. He was going to make a potion to heal Jerome's burns. "That should be enough." he muttered to himself as he stood up and began to head back to the makeshift shelter where he had left the bacca. But suddenly, he had the strange feeling that he was being watched.

Seto turned around just in time to see a dark-blue ball of magic slam into him, knocking him against a tree. Quick as a flash, Seto formed a beam of purple energy and launched a spell in retaliation, feeling triumph when he heard his attacker cry out in pain. But unfortunately, his victory was short-lived. Seto felt tendrils of magic wrap around his hands and hoist him into the air, making him cry out in pain.

"Gotcha now!" the mysterious sorcerer said. His captor's blue eyes were cold and calculating, and his black hair was unkempt. He had on a white coat that had brown splotches on it. Seto couldn't tell if it was dried blood or just dirty. But what scared Seto the most were the 8 blue mist-like tentacles of magic that flowed from his back; one of which held Seto in the air.

"Let me go!" Seto demanded as he struggled to free himself from the magic's vice-like grip. Tiny sparks flew from his hands, but the tendrils were blocking it.

"Feisty one, aren't you?" his captor said, tightening his grip on Seto.

"What do you want from me?" Seto asked. "Ow!" he shouted when a tendril of magic slapped him in the face, leaving a red mark.

"I'm asking the questions here." the sorcerer said sternly. "Do you understand?" Seto nodded weakly. "Good. Now tell me: what are you doing here?"

"Just collecting herbs." Seto responded, his voice about an octave higher than usual.

A tentacle reached out, grabbed the pouch, and checked its contents. "You're making a potion to heal burns? Why?"

"Uh, uh, just taking extra precautions." Seto said, squirming uncomfortably. He didn't want to put Jerome in danger by letting this man find out about him. Unfortunately, lying had never been his forte.

The sorcerer's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I don't believe you. You're lying to me." he hissed.

"No, no I'm not." Seto stammered, aware of the fact that his forehead was clammy with sweat.

His captor paused for a moment before lowering Seto so their faces almost touched. His blue eyes seemed to pierce Seto's soul and Seto quivered in fear. "Don't lie to me." the sorcerer growled. "Who are you trying to save?" Seto bit his lip and looked away, remaining silent. "Tell me!" he yelled, shaking Seto roughly.

"Never." Seto said in a low voice.

"Let's do this the hard way, then." the sorcerer said, raising a tentacle. It was about to touch Seto's chest when they both heard the fierce battle cry of a bacca. Seto felt a sense of dread wash over him when he realized that Jerome was unarmed. He was about to tell Jerome to run, but he was silenced by a tentacle covering his mouth. The only sounds he could make were terrified whimpers.

"Let Seto go!" Jerome yelled angrily, his black eyes burning with pure hatred. His sharp teeth were bared and his fur was wild.

The sorcerer took a step back in terror before realizing that he had the upper hand. A blast of magic hit the bacca and a blue aura surrounded him as his body floated a few feet off the ground. Jerome flailed around in the air helplessly, making the sorcerer smirk. "Interesting. I never thought I'd ever see a sorcerer befriend a bacca before. I guess today's my lucky day, isn't it?"

"I don't care!" Jerome shouted. "You let Seto go, or I'll-" The sorcerer cut him off by slamming Jerome roughly against a tree. The bacca fell to the floor. Seto cried out in horror and struggled in vain against his bonds, but he could only watch as his captor coldly walked over to Jerome, towering over him. Jerome groaned slightly and made a feeble attempt to pick himself off the floor. The sorcerer raised his foot and kicked the bacca in the head.

"STOP IT!" Seto screamed, his eyes glued to the motionless bacca. "STOP IT, YOU'RE HURTING HIM!"

"I could kill him just as easily." the sorcerer said cruelly.

"Why are you doing this?" Seto demanded hysterically. "We didn't do anything to you!"

"The answer to that, Seto, is what you'll find out soon enough." the sorcerer said, smiling sadistically. "But for now, I think you should join your friend and go to sleep..." Before Seto could react, a tendril of magic snaked around his neck and tightened. His brown eyes were wild as he clawed desperately for air, his lungs aching and his head pounding. _This is how I die..._ was Seto's final thought as his vision faded to nothingness.

The sorcerer's smile widened as Seto's jerks grew more feeble and weaker until he stopped struggling and hung limply in his grasp. He carelessly let Seto drop to the floor next to Jerome. "Let's go on a trip to the Factory, shall we?" he whispered as his tentacles waved menacingly in the breeze.

**(A/N: Anyone who mentions the words "hentai" and "rape" in the review section will be put to trial for execution.)**


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